


From Season to Season

by battle_goats



Category: Natsume Yuujinchou | Natsume's Book of Friends
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Everyone Loves Natsume Takashi, Family Feels, Gen, Natsume Yuujinchou Secret Santa, The Fujiwaras have a biological son
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:34:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,459
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28317579
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/battle_goats/pseuds/battle_goats
Summary: Takashi is ten going on eleven when he meets the Fujiwara. They're different from all the other guardians he's had. They're kind, and their college aged son understands him in a way no one else has before.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 89





	From Season to Season

**Author's Note:**

> A gift for enbynoodledoodles on tumblr for the NatsuYuu Secret Santa.

Takashi is ten, going on eleven when he meets the Fujiwaras. The spring term is ending, and there’s been tense talk of sending him to someone else. He never bothered to really unpack his things. Not that there was really anywhere for him to put his personal belongings. But then there’s a wedding that unexpectedly brings most of the family together. Takashi normally doesn’t get to see any of these events, but his current caretaker can’t find a babysitter, so he’s shoved into some borrowed clothes to look presentable and dragged off with a stern warning to stay quiet.

He stood apart from the adults and even the other children. No one would approach him, and he could hear their whispers. Takashi simply stood in his self-appointed corner and waited until it was time to leave.

“Oh? What are you doing all the way over here?” an unfamiliar woman asked. Takashi looked up, and the first thing he thought was that she looked warm. Her smile was soft and genuine, and there was no disguised dislike in her eyes. Takashi looked away. He shrugged. He’d been told not to talk to anyone, and this was one thing he could at least obey.

“Touko-san, what are you going all the way over here? Is he bothering you?” Takashi’s caretaker asked. Takashi hunched his shoulders and backed further into the corner of the room.

“Oh. I was just saying hello, that’s all,” the woman said. Takashi risked a glance up at the adults before looking back down at his feet. There was a line of tension in the woman’s shoulders now. He just knew he’d be blamed for that too.

“Come on, let’s leave the boy alone. He clearly doesn’t want to be spoken to.”

“Really? He seems rather shy to me,” the woman said. “I’ll be back over in a moment.”

There was a beat of silence. No doubt the adults were doing that thing where they talk a lot without saying a word.

“Suit yourself.” His guardian walked away. The woman turned back to Takashi.

“What’s your name, sweetheart?” she asked gently. Takashi was stuck. He’d been told to be quiet, but he knew it was rude not to answer an adult’s questions.

“N-natsume Takashi,” he said quietly. Maybe if no one heard him speak, then he couldn’t get in trouble. It was a stupid idea, but maybe it’d work this time.

“It’s nice to meet you, Takashi-kun.” She didn’t mean that. No adult ever did. “How old are you?”

“Ten.”

“Oh, how wonderful, you’re so grown up!”

No he wasn’t. If he was grown up he could leave and never have to deal with horrible adults ever again.

“There you are, Touko-san.”

A man approached. He also looked warm and nice, behind his glasses. The woman straightened up and smiled at him. They stood close together, and it was then that Takashi saw their matching wedding rings.

“Shigeru-san, this is Takashi-kun,” the woman said.

“Hello, Takashi-kun,” he said.

“Hello,” Takashi mumbled.

These two adults spent several minutes carefully asking Takashi questions, while he hesitantly answered them.

“Takashi! Let’s go!” his caretaker yelled. Takashi stepped away from the corner to join her when the man’s hand slowly and carefully settled on his shoulder. The touch was sudden and unexpected. Takashi couldn’t hide his flinch in time, and the hand was removed.

“I’m sorry Takashi-kun. We just want to say it was nice meeting you,” the man said. Takashi blinked. He didn’t believe it. No one ever wanted to meet him, let alone say it was nice.

“I said let’s go!”

Takashi was grabbed by the wrist, and he yelped when his shoulder wrenched.

“Now, there’s no need to be so rough with him,” the kind man protested.

“It is the least that he deserves, Shigeru-san,” his caretaker sneered. The nice couple exchanged a glance. Then, Takashi was dragged away again.

* * *

Several weeks went by, and Takashi put the nice couple out of mind. It wasn’t like he was ever going to see them again. So when he came home from school to see the couple in the living room with his caretaker, he did his best to hide his surprise.

“Come over here Takashi,” his caretaker ordered. Takashi cautiously stepped into the living room.

He knew what this was. He was officially leaving this relative for another relative. But this couple just seemed so nice. Takashi tried to push down that little bit of hope trying to bubble up from his stomach.

“These are the Fujiwaras. You met them at your cousin’s wedding. They said they’d like to take you in. Isn’t that wonderful?” his caretaker said with a wide smile. He knew that they were just glad to be rid of him. He was eleven, not stupid.

Takashi proceeded to tune the adults out, only paying attention when he was nudged to begin packing his things. The Fujiwaras were under the impression it would take him until the next day to get that done, so when he came down only thirty minutes later with his black trash bag of belongings, he watched the surprise on their faces.

Honestly, what were they expecting from a child passed around more than an unwanted fruitcake.

* * *

The Fujiwara home was big and old and out in the middle of nowhere. Takashi had seen plenty of spirits and monsters on the drive in, and he’d very carefully avoided looking at them so he wouldn’t draw their attention. To his shock, there were talismans on either side of the front gate, as well as over the front door.

When Shigeru-san noticed him looking at them, he smiled.

“Our son, Junichi is very interested in things like the occult. He insisted on putting these up, before he left for university. He seemed to think it was important,” Shigeru-san explained. “Now, let’s get you settled in. Come upstairs with me, Takashi-kun.”

Takashi followed Shigeru-san up the stairs, and a bedroom door was slid open. The room was rather large, and rather sparse. The walls looked newly painted, and it was clean.

“It isn’t much yet, but we can take a trip into town to get some more furniture for you. The desk is Junichi’s old one when he was your age. We have a futon for you, but if you’d prefer a bed, we can pick up a frame and mattress for you too.”

“Um, the futon is fine,” Takashi said quietly.

“Okay. Would you like help unpacking?” Shigeru-san asked. Takashi shook his head and gripped his bag tighter. “Okay. We’ll be right downstairs if you need anything.”

Shigeru-san reached out and patted him on the head. Takashi managed to stop himself from flinching. Then he was left alone in his new, empty bedroom.

The plastic bag of his belongings was stuffed inside the closet, and the dresser was very pointedly not used to hold his clothing.

* * *

Several weeks went by, and summer ended, and Takashi was enrolled in the local elementary school. His classmates were excited to have a transfer from a big city. They peppered and pestered him for questions he couldn’t really answer. At lunch, two boys invited him to sit with them, and with no real reason to say no, Takashi agreed. The lunch Touko-san had packed him was the best he’d ever had, and he found himself fighting back tears in front of his new classmates.

No one here cared about the rumors and whispers that always followed him before. No one took stock in the “warnings” from previous school administrations. As far as his new teachers were concerned, he was quiet, and polite, and always got his homework done. Meanwhile Takashi did his best to ignore the wiggling shadow in the back corner of the classroom.

* * *

Takashi had been living with the Fujiwaras for four months, and fall had settled upon the countryside. The forest was a wash of golds, oranges and reds, and Takashi thought it was the prettiest thing he’d ever seen. Touko-san tutted over the state of his hoodie one morning. It was old; the cuffs too short for his arms, and the elbows were almost completely worn through. But it was the warmest thing he owned, so he didn’t mention it. Takashi would wear it for as long as he could.

Except when he came home from school, Touko-san was waiting with a brand new one in a deep forest green. It was a little loose on the sleeves, but the hood was lined in fleece and was oh so warm on blustery days. That was also around the time Touko-san found out he hadn’t actually unpacked anything.

She had scolded him in that gentle way of hers that hardly felt like a scolding at all. That was one thing Takashi had learned about the Fujiwaras. They were endlessly patient. They never yelled, screamed, and especially they never raised a hand to him. They were too good to be true.

So one weekend, Takashi and Touko-san spent the late morning finally putting his scant clothing away properly. For the first time in a very long time, Takashi thought he was going to stay.

* * *

Fujiwara Junichi was coming home for New Year’s. He’d be home for the first two weeks of the new year and Takashi wasn’t sure how to feel about that. The Fujiwara’s clearly loved their son, and they cared about Takashi too. They even got him Christmas gifts. Takashi had ended up taking his saved allowance and buying them small things that the couple had expressed their deep appreciation for.

Takashi was helping Touko-san prepare their upcoming New Year’s feast by peeling potatoes in the kitchen when the front door opened and a youthful voice called out.

“I’m home!”

Touko-san dropped her knife on the cutting board and wiped her hands with a dish cloth.

“Junichi, we’re in here!” she called. The sound of footsteps, and Takashi found himself holding his breath, clenching the peeler in his hand. The young man who swept into the kitchen and pulled Touko-san into a long hug seemed just as kind as his parents. Wearing glasses like his father, and with his mother’s eyes and brown hair, Fujiwara Junichi didn’t seem scary. He let go of his mother and turned to look at Takashi.

“Hello Takashi, it’s nice to meet you,” he said. Takashi bobbed his head in greeting, unsure of how to act around this new person. He’d seen photos of Junichi before, but this was their very first meeting and he was holding a peeler in one hand. Junichi adjusted his glasses and he smiled at Takashi. Takashi shakily smiled back.

* * *

Junichi was strange. He took long walks in the forest, straying from the marked paths and just wandering. Takashi avoided the forest, knowing the kinds of spirits that lurked among the trees. Then, a few days after he’d come home while Touko-san and Shigeru-san were in the kitchen, cleaning up after breakfast, Junichi leaned across the teacher and studied Takashi.

“You can see them, can’t you?” he asked. Takashi froze. He could try lying, but something told him that wouldn’t work.

“I -”

“It’s okay, I can see them too. Kind of. My glasses let me see them better, I put up the wards that keep them away from the house.” Junichi explained. The conversation ended abruptly with Touko-san’s reappearance with a tea tray.

The next day when Junichi headed out for his daily walk, Takashi tugged on the sleeve of his coat.

“Can I come with you?” he asked. Junichi only smiled.

“Stay close to me, okay?” 

Takashi nodded, And off they went into the snow dusted mountains. By Junichi’s side, the forest wasn’t nearly so scary. It was even fun. Takashi couldn’t help but think with a little bitterness that it would have been nice to come out here with his friends and play, if not for the spirits who now knew he could see them.

Junichi went back to school, but before he left, he gifted Takashi with a small talisman he could wear around his neck. It would keep him safe from weaker spirits that might want to harm him. Junichi didn’t know how to make a stronger one, but this was better than nothing.

By the end of those two weeks, Takashi could safely say that he wished Junichi really was his older brother. He thought, at least for now, Junichi could be his big brother within the privacy of his own mind. He didn’t want to get his hopes up after all.

* * *

Winter eventually melted away and made room for spring. The mountains and forest burst to life with vibrant color as flowers bloomed. Takashi finally took the plunge and took a walk into the wilds on his own. He didn’t go half as far as he had when Junichi was with him. But he felt brave just for being able to do it.

Some of the weaker spirits who didn’t immediately hate humans approached and invited him to their yearly hanami. Turning them down wasn’t easy, but he did it. Who knows what could happen to him if he went with them. He promised to do it in a few years. Namely, once he was old enough and strong enough to defend himself if he had to.

He kept on taking trips into the mountains, sometimes alone, and sometimes Nishimura and Kitamoto tagged along. They were endlessly curious about the wild mysteries that surrounded their small village, but only now with Natsume at their side did they dare venture in.

* * *

The summer of his twelfth birthday, Takashi met the spirit named Madara, and discovered a relic of his grandmother’s, the Book of Friends. It was a moment that would change his life forever. But with the Fujiwara family’s unending love for him, and Junichi’s support, Takashi felt safe about telling his guardians about the spirits he’d always been able to see.

“It’s very brave, what you’re doing, Takashi-kun. But we don’t want you to get hurt,” Shigeru-san said.

“I’ll be careful! And Nyanko-sensei will protect me!” Takashi said. He squeezed the rotund cat-shaped spirit in his arms. For once, the spirit didn’t contradict him.

“Promise us you’ll be careful, Takashi-kun,” Touko-san said. She reached out and drew him into a hug, one hand coming up to pet his hair. He sank into her embrace.

“I promise,” Takashi said.

He loved the Fujiwaras fiercely, and he knew that they loved him just as much. And to get hurt was to hurt them. He would do his best to help the spirits his grandmother had wronged, while also staying as safe as he could. It would be tricky, he knew, but with his family’s support, he knew he could do it.


End file.
